Estelle Bennett

Female

BornJul 22, 1941

DiedFeb 11, 2009

Death PlaceEnglewood, New Je...

GenresPop music + Rock ...

Performed WithThe Ronettes

Estelle Bennett was a member of the girl group The Ronettes, along with her sister Ronnie Spector (the 'Ronnie' of the band's name) and cousin Nedra Talley. After the Ronettes' 1966 break-up, she recorded a single for Laurie Records, "The Year 2000/The Naked Boy". She then quit the music business and had rarely been seen since. She married the group's road manager Joe Dong, and they had a daughter, Toyin.… Read More

siblings

News + Updates

'Beehive hair has become synonymous with big-name musical acts from across the pond such as Dusty Springfield, Amy Winehouse and Adele. But did you know that the towering hairdo was created by retired Chicago hairstylist Margaret Vinci Heldt?
While trying to come up with a hair trend that would define the ''60s for Modern Beauty Shop magazine, Heldt was inspired by a hat she owned to fashion this sky-high hairstyle. The vintage hair mag coined it the "beehive," and a bandwagon effect ensued...

'She was the quiet Ronette, the one people called the prettiest, the one who was content to remain in the shadow of her younger sister, Ronnie, because even in the shadow there''s still some spotlight. For a few years in the mid-1960s Estelle Bennett lived a girl-group fairy tale, posing for magazine covers with her fellow Ronettes and dating the'

'Estelle Bennett, one of the beehived queens of 1960s girl-group pop as a member of the Ronettes, has died at her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 67. She was found on Wednesday in her apartment by a friend, after family members had been unable to reach her for several days, said her daughter, Toyin Hunter. The cause was colon cancer, Ms. Hunter'

Timeline

Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Estelle Bennett.

CHILDHOOD

1941Birth
Born on July 22, 1941.

TWENTIES

196624 Years Old
After the Ronettes' 1966 break-up, she recorded a single for Laurie Records, "The Year 2000/The Naked Boy."
… Read More

She then quit the music business and had rarely been seen since. She married the group's road manager Joe Dong, and they had a daughter, Toyin. Read Less

LATE ADULTHOOD

200765 Years Old
In 2007, when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was decided that she was too fragile to perform with them, and spoke only a brief two sentences during her acceptance speech, "I would just like to say, thank you very much for giving us this award.
… Read More

I'm Estelle of the Ronettes, thank you." She did, however, come back out on stage for a final bow with the rest of the Ronettes after the performance of "Be My Baby".<br /><br /> Bennett died of colon cancer aged 67 in Englewood, New Jersey. Read Less

A week after her death it was revealed that she had suffered from anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia in the years after the Ronettes break up and that later on she had been homeless in New York. Read Less